The board of London-listed Bushveld Minerals has concluded that the company has liabilities due that it cannot pay and that it does not have the means to continue to operate.

Moreover, the corporate service provider to Bushveld has resigned, effective April 4, and filed for ineffective registered office.

Therefore, the board has applied to the Commercial Court of Guernsey to appoint Adrian Rabet and Clive Fortis of Begbies Traynor Group as joint liquidators of the company to seek to preserve the value of the business for creditors and other stakeholders.

If appointed, the liquidators will also provide the corporate registered office for Bushveld.

The application will be heard at the sitting of the Commercial Court in Guernsey on April 15.

Consequently, SP Angel Corporate Finance has informed the company of its intention to resign as nominated adviser and broker upon appointment of the liquidators.

If a replacement nominated adviser is not appointed within one month from the resignation, admission of the company’s shares to trading on Aim will be cancelled.

The company says it has no current intention of appointing a replacement nominated adviser. 

Further to an announcement last year regarding business rescue proceedings, the board says it has been actively exploring various options to realise value from the group assets.

This has included ascertaining whether any amount would be repayable to the company upon the conclusion of the business rescue proceedings for Bushveld Vametco Alloys, Bushveld Vametco Holdings and Bushveld Minerals SA.

The publication of the business rescue plan has now been delayed to mid-April and the Vametco mining and plant operations are not yet back on stream as was previously expected by the end of the first quarter.

Additionally, all head office staff, who were employed through Bushveld Minerals SA have had their employment terminated.

Having discussed matters with the joint business rescue practitioners, the most likely outcome of the business rescue proceedings will be a sale of the South African entities, the company informs.

In the event of a sale, the likely realisations made will flow solely to Bushveld’s secured creditors with no benefit being received by the company, it points out.

The board has also engaged with interested parties to explore ways to realise value from the remaining group assets.

These discussions have included secured creditors, joint venture partners and both existing and potential new investors, focusing on alternative scenarios with a view to achieving the best possible recovery for the company’s stakeholders.

To date, there has been no decided outcome from this process.